Toasted Coquito Porter

This is a variation on the typical coconut porter style. Instead of using shredded coconut we found some odd little baby coconuts called Coquitos. These are actually palm nuts. They grow on the Coquito Palm of Chile, South America. The palm sap was popular as a palm honey and a palm wine since each trees average yield was about 90 gallons. Since the extraction of the sap causes the death of the tree, the Chilean government now protects these trees. The nut is edible and sweet, so that is what we are going to experiment with.

This brown coquito nut, also called cockernut, looks like a miniature coconut. It is about ½” to ¾” in diameter and has the same white meat texture on the inside. These are quite crunchy (so good teeth are essential if you decide to bite into one) and the flavor is very similar to coconut with an almond-like sweetness.

Now we need to figure out how to use them. They can, apparently, be softened during the boil to extract the coconut flavor or used in the later stages of fermentation. We chose to crack the Coquitos open with a mallet and lay them out on a baking tray lined with foil. We toasted the Coquitos at 300 F for 20 minutes until the white meat was slightly browned. We added the toasted Coquitos to the secondary fermentation process and were pleasantly surprised with the unique coconut flavor it added to the Porter.

Brewer's Note: To avoid Coquito particulate from getting into the racking tube when racking after secondary fermentation, you may want to put cheese cloth at end of your racking cane.

A few good places to find Coquitos online are at Marx Foods, Sid Wainer or at Melissas.

Related Recipes:
Pecan Porter
Molasses Stout

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Published: February 25, 2011

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